Leah Mae were on our left. Scarlett and Devlin on our right. Gibson strolled in with a frown on his face.
“What’s with the face?” Shelby asked.
“Someone broke into my truck last night. Wallet’s missing.”
“Brunch is on us,” Jameson promised.
“I think it was Misty Lynn,” Shelby announced. I nudged her water glass toward her. “My memory’s a little foggy since I was conked in the head. But I remember following Misty Lynn out to the street. She broke your truck window with a paver from the Tuckers’ flower bed and was rummaging around inside.”
My focus was on Shelby, but I noticed that Gibson’s expression went stony.
“I think we’re gonna need Jayme,” he said quietly.
“Already called her around six this morning,” Devlin said, glancing at his watch. “She should be here—”
“Now what disaster have you inserted yourselves into, Bodines?” Jayme, our family attorney, strutted into the room in city black. She tucked her designer sunglasses into her designer bag and made a beeline for the coffee carafe.
George and June entered behind her, my mom on their heels.
“You’re gonna need something stronger than that,” Mom announced, whirling in and wrapping Shelby in a gentle hug. “So glad you’re okay, sweetie.”
“Thanks, Jenny,” Shelby said, hugging my mom back. “Me, too. You should be pretty proud of your son.”
“I am every day,” she said, leaning in and hugging me hard.
“You two can’t scare me like that ever again,” she said, switching into mom mode.
I laughed.
“Jayme, I need to talk to you,” Gibson said, trying to drag our attorney’s attention away from the caffeine she was mainlining.
Reading his expression, my mom rose and went to him. “What is it?”
“My wallet was stolen last night,” he said. Something seemed to pass between the two of them.
“One crisis at a time,” Jayme insisted. “Let’s start at the top with the abduction and assault.”
“Actually there’s a bigger crisis,” Shelby said. “You’re definitely going to want liquor.”
“Mr. and Mrs. Bodine are here for breakfast,” Cassidy chirped from the doorway. She strolled in hand-in-hand with Bowie, both beaming in newlywed bliss.
“Well, what in the hell happened to all of you?” Bowie asked, gaping at us.
We were quite a sight to take in. Shelby looked exactly like an attempted murder victim. I was bruised and bloody. Jameson and Gibs were still in the rumpled pants and shirts from last night. The girls had last night’s makeup on and what was left of their hairdos.
“Y’all either had one hell of a fight or one hell of a party without us,” Cassidy pouted.
Shelby was the first one to start laughing, and the rest of us fell in behind her.
“Would someone please tell us what the hell happened?” Bowie said, drawing his wife into the room.
“Imma get us a round of Bloody Marys,” Scarlett decided.
We waited until we had our drinks and our meals before dishing the dirt.
“I missed a Misty Lynn meltdown?” Cassidy complained.
“Okay, so, Misty Lynn throws herself at you, gets rejected for the millionth time, and flips out?” Bowie clarified.
Jayme rolled her eyes. “This is the weirdest fucking town.”
“So she storms out, and Shelby follows her,” Leah Mae said, picking up the thread. “This was after she and Jonah had sex in your parents’ shed, by the way.”
“Wedding reception sex, nice,” Cassidy said approvingly.
“Anyway, Shelby went after Misty Lynn and caught her breaking into Gibson’s truck,” Jameson continued.
“About that—” Gibson said. But nobody paid him any attention.
“The next thing we know, Misty Lynn is screaming her head off, sayin’ someone took Shelby,” Scarlett said.
The retelling, now that all the parties were safe, was mildly entertaining… to everyone except me.
“I remember trying to pull Misty Lynn out of your truck,” Shelby said to Gibson. “And she was crying and yelling about teaching you a lesson. Then it all just goes black.”
“According to Misty Lynn’s statement, a man appeared out of the shadows and pushed her down. She struck her forehead on Gibson’s truck. He grabbed you and knocked you unconscious,” Jayme said, reading off her phone.
“How did you get your hands on the report already?” Devlin asked.
Her painted lips curved. “I have my ways.”
They told Bowie and Cassidy the rest of the story in fits and starts.
“I can’t believe we were so busy having hot newlywed sex that we had no idea any of this was going on,” Cassidy said, pushing her plate away. “I need to get into the station and get the scoop.”
“Before you go,” I said, eyeing Shelby. “There’s something else you